Sunday, November 30, 2008

I Saw God Today!

I awoke to a cold and rainy day today, wishing it was still Saturday. However, I should have known that God had something great planned!

Our church has been trying to get as many coats as possible for the Christmas Mother in Amelia, Virginia. This year is a really tough one for so many individuals and as cold as it gets, everyone needs a coat. We have been able to get a few, but people forget or don't really think that they have anything to give.

Today was different.

As most of you know, I am part of the worship team at my church and love to sing praise songs to the Lord. Today our pastor spoke on sacrificial giving. How giving sacrificially is so much more rewarding than giving out of abundance. Thankfully, this is something that my husband and I learned early in our relationship with God. There were times when we tithed & we had no idea how we would pay our house payment or car payment, yet God always provided for us because we had obeyed his direction to give sacrificially. (This is a whole other story for another day)

Well, at the end of the service, our pastor challenged everyone in the service to give sacrificially. . . he challenged everyone to give the coat off of their backs. Before John and I could leave the stage to give the coats that we had, people had already started bringing up their coats!!! Now, these were not just "extra" coats that people had brought in, because the extra coats were dropped in the bin outside of the auditorium before people came in to the service. So, all of the coats that people brought up were literally the ones off of their backs! WOW! What an outpouring of love and giving!

I don't think that the day could have been any better than this!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Another day in the life. . .

OK, for those of you that know me, you know that I have been telling my husband for years that he needed to get a Sleep Study done to determine how bad his Sleep Apnea is. Well, after all of the problems he had this year with his lungs and being diagnosed with a Pulmonary disease, this Dr sent him for one.

Well. . . it didn't go so good. They said that he stopped breathing 22 times per hour! They didn't even let him go the rest of the night without a mask that feeds air to him while he sleeps. They also said that he never made it to REM sleep. No wonder he tells me that he doesn't have dreams! He really doesn't! This would explain a lot about a lot. He has said for years that he never feels like he went to sleep and that when he gets up in the morning, he feels like he had just laid down. So not only does he have sleep apnea, he also has narcolepsy.

Now the part that really stinks is the fact that we have new insurance and he was referred to a "non-participating" provider. I have no clue how much it is going to end up costing, but you can bet it won't be cheap. Just the sleep study was $1600! Two visits to the Pulmonary specialist was $550. Yes, that is for 2 OFFICE VISITS. I had to laugh when I got the EOB from the insurance, because it is always something like this going on in our lives. I just looked up to Heaven and said, "Well God, here's another one you are gonna have to take care of." Of course, every time we have had some kind of catastrophe in our lives, whether physical or financial, God has ALWAYS sustained us and gotten us through it all.

One good thing, though. . . He is being offered another position by his employer that would get him out of the weather and in an office environment. I am praying that they will compensate him financially so that it doesn't end up costing him more than he is earning. You see, he currently has a truck and gas card, and has been told everytime he was due for a raise that he needed to figure the truck and gas card as part of his salary. SO, how much is that worth? Well, when we sat down and crunched some numbers, it ended up being around $16,000. Now, I doubt very seriously that they will offer him that kind of compensation. However, it is a BLESSING that he will no longer be out in the weather and breathing welding fumes all day long. I am thanking God for that !!!

Now we are just praying for a decent salary so that we can pay the difference in him driving to and from work in his 10 miles per gallon pick up truck.

Another day in the life. . .

OK, for those of you that know me, you know that I have been telling my husband for years that he needed to get a Sleep Study done to determine how bad his Sleep Apnea is. Well, after all of the problems he had this year with his lungs and being diagnosed with a Pulmonary disease, this Dr sent him for one.

Well. . . it didn't go so good. They said that he stopped breathing 22 times per hour! They didn't even let him go the rest of the night without a mask that feeds air to him while he sleeps. They also said that he never made it to REM sleep. No wonder he tells me that he doesn't have dreams! He really doesn't! This would explain a lot about a lot. He has said for years that he never feels like he went to sleep and that when he gets up in the morning, he feels like he had just laid down. So not only does he have sleep apnea, he also has narcolepsy.

Now the part that really stinks is the fact that we have new insurance and he was referred to a "non-participating" provider. I have no clue how much it is going to end up costing, but you can bet it won't be cheap. Just the sleep study was $1600! Two visits to the Pulmonary specialist was $550. Yes, that is for 2 OFFICE VISITS. I had to laugh when I got the EOB from the insurance, because it is always something like this going on in our lives. I just looked up to Heaven and said, "Well God, here's another one you are gonna have to take care of." Of course, every time we have had some kind of catastrophe in our lives, whether physical or financial, God has ALWAYS sustained us and gotten us through it all.

One good thing, though. . . He is being offered another position by his employer that would get him out of the weather and in an office environment. I am praying that they will compensate him financially so that it doesn't end up costing him more than he is earning. You see, he currently has a truck and gas card, and has been told everytime he was due for a raise that he needed to figure the truck and gas card as part of his salary. SO, how much is that worth? Well, when we sat down and crunched some numbers, it ended up being around $16,000. Now, I doubt very seriously that they will offer him that kind of compensation. However, it is a BLESSING that he will no longer be out in the weather and breathing welding fumes all day long. I am thanking God for that !!!

Now we are just praying for a decent salary so that we can pay the difference in him driving to and from work in his 10 miles per gallon pick up truck.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

A Piece Of History

Barack Obama will be our next President of the United States.

I believe that the next four years are going to be quite different from the last eight. It is going to be interesting to see what other countries have in store for us, how they will treat us, with our new President. I believe that his wife is a classy lady, and behind each strong man there is a WOMAN of strength. She appears to be a devoted mother and wife, and I pray that she stays strong through his Presidency. His children are beautiful and must be very excited to be part of a piece of History. A piece that is life changing; not just for them, but for the United States as well.

While I do not agree with his stand on many issues, I will continue to pray for him and his family. Yes, I said "continue", because regardless of WHO is in the White House, they will ALWAYS have my prayers. He will be our President and with that comes a H-U-G-E responsibility. He will have quite a lot on his hands when he enters the White House in January: our economy is in quite a mess, people are without jobs, people are losing their homes.

I will also pray that he looks to Jesus Christ for direction, when he is looking at the "Changes" that he will implement.

God Bless You and Peace Be Unto You President Obama, Michelle, Sasha & Malia!

Humbly,
One Mommy
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